Rochester Veterans' Council news

By EARL ADAMS

fosters.com

By EARL ADAMS

Posted Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By EARL ADAMS

Posted Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:15 AM

ROCHESTER — Greetings, this will be my last column as president, as I am stepping down. When you reach age 75, you start to slow down a little, and I have to take care of my health. Being president of an organization such as the RVC, is a lot of work. The job is time-consuming as it includes setting up the schedules for ceremonies and events, and securing the various permits needed for these events. I would like to thank past presidents Al Benton and Norm Sanborn Sr. for guiding me through this past year which was a great and wonderful experience. I especially enjoyed working with the community and veterans. I can’t thank John and Conor of the Times enough, and also MetroCast for taping shows every month on Channel 12.

I would like to thank the community and veterans for donating medical equipment to us. We now have a surplus, so any elderly person that may need to borrow this equipment, should give us a call. One exception would be electric wheelchairs, since they are all out on loan. We plan to donate some of our equipment to the Wounded Warriors Organization.

I would also like to thank Frank Willard of Farmington who called me last week and told me he had a Hoveround Heavy Duty wheelchair which had only been used 4-5 times. I’ve had a 300 lb. disabled veteran who has been waiting over a month for an over-sized wheelchair. Frank saw my plea for medical equipment on Channel 12, and he told me he also reads my column in the Times every week. We now have six electric wheelchairs on loan. We also have plenty of manual wheelchairs on hand. If you have an electric wheelchair, please make sure you keep it charged.

Tuesday we had a wonderful luncheon at Riverside sponsored by Vinnie Crout-Hamel, owner of the 306 Restaurant located at the Globe Mall (he is the son of our RVC Chaplin, Bob Crout-Hamel). The meal included fish chowder, chili, lasagna, baked haddock, mashed potatoes with gravy, carrots, cole slaw, Texas toast, corn, hot apple pie topped with ice cream, coffee, and tonic. A lot of vets had seconds, and some took a doggie bag with them. Roger from Colonial Hill took two home! A lot of vets said they were going to eat at the 306. Roger said he was going to ride his scooter to the 306. One of the RVC volunteers took his wife there last night and said the service and food were great!

Dennis Sellers is our new RVC president. He will do a great job. He worked with me all year, and any time I called him, he was right there. At almost every event we had, Dennis was the first one there, nine out of 10 times. He is a great vet!

Listen up, mark your calendars. On Jan. 31, Feb. 1 and 2, we will be doing a fundraiser at the Lilac Mall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. We will be selling Red Shirt Friday shirts. On the front it will say, “Thank a Vet”, on the back it will say, “Red Shirt Friday” with the American flag, and on the bottom it will say, “Support Our Troops”. Dennis will be at the Kmart, entrance, and I will be at the JC Penney end, starting at 9 a.m. We will have short sleeve tees, long sleeve tees, and sweatshirts. Please come out and support the RVC.

I will close with Al Benton’s saying: Remember, “If you love America, thank a vet.”

P.S. I will still be working with the vets on a limited basis. I will be the alternate rep for Post #7 with the RVC.

(Editor’s note: We extend our warm thanks to Earl Adams for his veterans’ column, which has been packed with information, week after week, and which has been greatly appreciated by the community.)